Hyundai Genesis – It’s official
December 5, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
Update 06/12/07: Photos of the Genesis sedan have been released (see bottom of article for gallery).
Update: Hyundai Australia has told CarAdvice that Genesis is still unconfirmed for an Australian release and that global production will not start till 2009.
-
Hyundai has finally confirmed what we all already knew, the next generation Hyundai luxury cars will be called Genesis.
According to Hyundai, the Genesis range – which will include a sedan and sports coupe to replace the Tiburon – betters the competition from Germany, Japan and the United States. A big call from the Korean manufacturer, but given the company’s recent glowing reputation, it’s a claim we will entertain.
The biggest and most important change and the main reason why we are willing to take Hyundai seriously, is the change to a rear-wheel-drive architecture. Both the sedan and coupe utilise a RWD design that will silence the front-wheel drive arguments that the company has long suffered.
The second reason is the all-new Tau V8 engine, which will deliver 280kW of power to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. The V6 Lambda engines in 3.3- and 3.8-litre variants finish the range.
There is a good chance the V8 engine will make its way into the Genesis coupe, but unfortunately there is no word of the rumoured four-cylinder turbo powerplant.
The other announcement from Hyundai was the unveiling of the Genesis emblem consisting of the Genesis logotype set in a black hexagonal shield framed by a pair of wings. To be honest, most of us at CarAdvice think it looks somewhat similar to the Bentley emblem.
For reasons yet unknown, Hyundai will not bring the Genesis emblem to Australia, instead it will only be applied to the Korean and Chinese markets.
the coupe looks fantastic, and I like the emblem, who cares if it looks similar to the bentley, bring it here Hyundai aus!
Agreed, the coupe looks superb, I do hope they dont bother calling this a bloody tiburon, this is when they need to change names, this car will be the new 200SX
So who says Hyundai will be the next Toyota in 10 years time? I just hope they don’t do what Toyota did, build a brand image with great cars, including sports cars, then go for mass produced a-b cars to increase volume.
If Hyundai’s current attempts (i30 etc) are anything to go by, this will be a beast. I’m a big coupe fan too – can’t wait.
The Genesis badge could be Korea and China only due to it being so similar to the Bentley logo.
Bentley has significant financial reserves behind it and the moment someone infringes their trademark, you can bet the lawyers will be onto it faster than a Pit Bull on a baby.
Yeah I’d say they are only using that logo in Korea/China because they can get away with it there :P
I’d be pretty pissed if I were Bentley and saw that badge, the similarities are uncanny.
But the new Tiburon looks good though, also good to see that didn’t rip off the looks from another car, like the i30.
i must admit that coupe looks good. defonatley alot better than that BMW/LEXUS wannabe in the last write up
4.3 V8, 280kw, RWD, Coupe. I want to see the torque curve – but Chev’s L76 V8 is 6.0L and 270kw for comparo.
4.3 V8, 280kw, RWD, Coupe. Those words set any car enthusiast into fits of joy. Now for Hyundai to pull it off.
Korea are making some of the best cars in the world right now, Hyundai are fast becoming the new Toyota, even Toyota have said they fear Hyundai more than GM.
It’s looking more and more like Holden too will be coming out with some world beating Korean products soon, first cab off the rank the all-new Viva next year, which I’ll bet now will be just as good, if not better than the just released Hyundai i30 all the journo’s are raving about.
Even the emblem is derivative…..
….but i cant wait to see this RWD in flesh!!
Interesting, but will be price-sensitive sell a few but don’t think it will be a volume seller……unlike say:
The new H1 Hyundai [Starex] Van that is coming out early 08′, guess who is getting one? :-) Not bad for a non-hyundai-fan-boy!
Cheers
F-0
**VOTE-NOW!**
it would appear that finally Hyundai are adding power to go with the looks of their Coupe`s. Excellent
And people thought Hyundai was just a small car company, and crappy korean at that..
HYUNDAI
TAKE ANOTHER LOOK
i like it
I think the bad things isn’t coming from hyundai…but from us!…yes hyundai had a sh i t…period with the EXCEL…but it doesnt mean that they’re still s h it after that…
like britney shaving her head…who cares!!! people loved her for her music!
just our ignorance…
i don’t LOVE hyundai to death but
i believe in hyundai…dont look down on them
Crickey! I just poo’d me pants
deeeeerrrrrrrrrr
tsk not again! Im busy with rory at the moment, let me finish and ill come clean you up, silly boy
Bring it here to Australia!
It should be great value for money!
I reckon hyundai should bring this to australia, it would give everybody a huge wake up call and show everyone what hyundai is capable of. is there any prices for the car yet? id expect to see it around the 40g mark prob plus.
LOL!!! I live in a small town and was surprised to see a Bentley in the CVS parking lot. I only saw the rear end so I got online to see the new Bentley Genesis and it turned out to be a Hyundai! Wow! I guess I do understand the whole patent infringement thing now b/c Hyundai is sure to sell more cars with that emblem! On a side note… I know nothing of Hyundai today except they have great warranties, but I had an Excel back in the early 90’s and it blew up with a little over 50,000 miles on it!
I saw 1 of these today on the fwy and thought for sure it was a Bentley. We were both going fast and it was raining so I didnt want to stare too long. As I passed it, it still looked like a Bentley. Then I thought who the hell would buy such a small car (about the size of an Accord) for that incredible price. I came home to google Bentley Genesis and came to find out it was a Hyundai. Great looking car for what Im guessing would be around mid $30s. This car should sale very well for the same reason the 300c sales. IT LOOKS LIKE A BENTLEY.
I have a 2010 Genesis Coupe and LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!! I’m an exotic car enthusiast and this puppy handles GREAT!!! It handles like a Ferrari with the styling of a Lamborghini (just my opinion). Where has this car been all my life?